Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

My Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk cookies have the perfect balance of slightly crispy edges and super soft, tender, and chewy centers. I love how the brown butter contributes to the nutty caramel notes and gives the cookies a slight denseness, which makes the cookies have a satisfying, substantial texture. You've love the semi sweet chocolate chunks in each bite and how the flaky salt adds a delicate crunch and burst of saltiness.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 10

Total Time 40

Servings cookies

Calories 177kcal

Author Tawnie Graham of Kroll's Korner

Ingredients

12 Tbsp. unsalted butter cut into pieces (this helps it melt evenly and brown better)
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed light brown will be ok too
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg room temperature
1 large egg yolk room temperature
2 Tbsp. whole milk
1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups all purpose flour spooned and leveled, I recommend weighing the flour (~300 grams) for best results
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2, 4 oz. bars semi sweet chocolate, chopped, divided *Note: chopped chocolate spreads much better than chocolate chips so if your cookies aren't spreading very much and you're using chocoate chips, that may be the culprit.
flaky sea salt, for finishing

US Customary - Metric

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Instructions

Note: see recipe notes below about cookies not spreading or cookie dough being dry.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
Brown the butter: For a detailed tutorial, see this post on how to brown butter. Allow the butter to cool slightly, ~10-15 minutes.
12 Tbsp. unsalted butter
Beat in the sugars into the brown butter using a hand mixer.
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed, 1/2 cup granulated sugar
Add in eggs, milk and vanilla. Beat again.
1 large egg, 1 large egg yolk, 2 Tbsp. whole milk, 1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
Sift in the dry ingredients and fold just until combined. (Keep stirring, the cookie dough will come together!)
2 2/3 cups all purpose flour, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1/2 tsp. baking powder
Fold in only 3/4 cup of the chocolate chunks (we will use the rest of the chunks to decorate the tops). Dough should feel like cookie dough, if it feels dry still add a splash more milk and stir to combine.
2, 4 oz. bars semi sweet chocolate, chopped, divided
Dunk a cookie dough ball in the remaining chopped chocolate so the pieces cover the tops of the cookie dough balls. Press chocolate into cookie slightly just to be sure it sticks. You can slightly flatten them to get a good surface so the chocolate sticks if thats easier! Repeat with remaining cookie dough balls and place 6 cookies on a baking sheet at a time. (Should yield ~22 cookies)
Bake for 10-11 minutes (I like to go slightly underbaked for a delicious chewy cookie, the edges should be a light golden brown and centers still a little gooey looking, they will continue to bake on baking sheet when removed from oven). Swirl a cup around the edges of the cookies to give them a perfect circular look if needed.
Rest on cookie sheet just 2-3 minutes then gently transfer to a cooling rack to cool and garnish with flaky sea salt if desired.

Video

Notes

Storage: Store these brown butter cookies in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

3/10/26 cookie troubleshooting: after multiple comments saying cookie dough was dry or cookies not spreading I revisited the recipe. If you’d like to make changes for a thinner, crispier edge cookie, increase the butter to 1 cup, decrease the flour to 280grams, and chill the cookie dough for at least 30 minutes prior to baking.

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